Open Libraries “… are signs of life and hope: They are the cornerstone of democracy”

Open World Cat

In typical OCLC style, a quiet revolution is brewing. Formerly a subscription-only database, WorldCat has begun to progagate into search engines–Google, Yahoo, and Ask in particular–and with the merger of RLG, it looks like a truly spectacular interface could be created to the union catalog.

In the meantime, it’s curious that OCLC chose to use an ISBN-based permalink structure instead of OpenURL. It does showcase FRBR, but beyond that it’s not very interoperable.

The real question is, will OCLC enter the SEO (search engine optimization) business so that library results show on the first page?

[...] Joe Janes asked, “What would happen if you made WorldCat open source? Would the fortress of metadata in Dublin, OH crumble?” When asked if libraries should participate in OpenWorldCat, Abram said, “Sure, why not? Our competitor is ignorance, not access. Libraries transform lives.” [...]

[...] An OCLC ILS with RedLightGreen as the front-end [...]